Instructional Communication, Public Speaking, Interpersonal Communication, Research Methods, Communication Theory
Melissa A. Broeckelman-Post is a Professor and the Basic Course Director in the Department of Communication at George Mason University and also currently serves as Chair of the Faculty Senate. She earned a B.A. in English, a Graduate Certificate in Technical Writing and Professional Communication, and M.A. in Speech Rhetoric and Communication from Kansas State University. She earned a Ph.D. in Communication Studies from Ohio University and was an Assistant Professor and Basic Course Coordinator and T.A. Supervisor at California State University, Los Angeles, for four years before beginning her faculty role at Mason.
As Basic Course Director in Communication, Dr. Broeckelman-Post is responsible for planning, supervising, assessing, and improving the communication courses that meet the general education requirement at GMU. Each year, she is responsible for recruiting, training, and supervising a staff of 40-60 instructors who teach approximately 4000 undergraduate students per year in these courses. As part of this role, she also established the Communication Center in 2018, which became part of the new Lab for Writing and Communication in Fall 2021. In 2016, her program was the recipient of the NCA Basic Course Division Program of Excellence Award, which recognizes introductory communication course programs that can serve as best practice models for programs across the country. In 2015, she was the recipient of the NCA Basic Course Division Textbook of Distinction Award for the textbook that she extensively adapted to meet the specific needs to GMU’s students, instructors, and program. Dr. Broeckelman-Post also served as the co-chair of the Social Science Research Council’s Measuring College Learning Project Panel on Public Speaking and was a co-recipient of a National Communication Association Advancing the Discipline Grant for A National-Level Assessment of Core Competencies in the Basic Communication Course. She was also the recipient of the John Toups Medal for Excellence in Teaching in 2021, George Mason University’s highest teaching honor.
Dr. Broeckelman-Post’s research includes applied and integrative research that helps to answer key questions about how to most effectively communicate in the classroom (instructional communication) and how to most effectively teach communication skills (communication education), at times by borrowing from and intersecting with research in other disciplines. Most of this research is also done to answer practical questions about how we can best serve our students in the introductory course and to test innovations that directly shape what we do in the classroom. Broeckelman-Post is the co-author of 39 peer-reviewed journal articles and three national communication textbooks (Inclusive Public Speaking, The Speaker’s Primer, and Communication Pathways), and more than 20 other chapters and invited articles. She has also served on the editorial boards of Communication Education (currently as Consulting Editor for Forums), Communication Teacher, The Basic Communication Course Annual, Journal of Communication Pedagogy, Western Journal of Communication, and the Texas Speech Communication Journal.
Dr. Broeckelman-Post has served on George Mason University’s Faculty Senate since 2014 and has served on the Executive Committee since 2018. She has served on the Mason Core Committee from 2013-2021 (including as co-chair), served as chair of Nomination from 2018-2021, and is currently co-chairing the Task Force on Reimagining Faculty Roles and Rewards. Additionally, she has served on the Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Curriculum and Pedagogy Subcommittee, the ADVANCE Advisory Committee, the Faculty Interests Working Group for Online University Expansion, and many other committees, task forces, and working groups. She was elected Chair for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 academic years.
Ruiz-Mesa, K., & Broeckelman-Post, M. A. (2020). Inclusive Public Speaking: Communicating in a Diverse World. Southlake, TX: Fountainhead.
Stewart, B. M.*, Broeckelman-Post, M. A., & Rossheim, C.* (2021). Making a difference: A quantitative study of communication center and basic course impact on public speaking anxiety, goal orientation, and motivation. Communication Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/03634523.2021.1906923
Stewart, B. M.*, Malterud, A.*, Lawrence, H. Y., & Broeckelman-Post, M. A. (2021). Student perceptions of value: A qualitative study of student experiences in the communication center. Basic Communication Course Annual. 33, Article 6. https://ecommons.udayton.edu/bcca/vol33/iss1/6/
Brophy, N. S.*, Adebayo, A. L.*, & Broeckelman-Post, M. A. (2021). The impact of communication center visits on students’ performance and engagement. Basic Communication Course Annual, 33, Article 7. https://ecommons.udayton.edu/bcca/vol33/iss1/7/
Nordin, K.*, & Broeckelman-Post, M. A. (2020). Surviving or thriving? Demographics differences in mindset across the introductory communication course. Communication Education, 69, 85-104. doi: 10.1080/03634523.2019.1679379
Broeckelman-Post, M. A., Hunter, K. M., Westwick, J. N., Hosek, A., Ruiz-Mesa, K., Hooker, J., & Anderson, L. B. (2020). Measuring essential learning outcomes for public speaking. Basic Communication Course Annual, 32, Article 4. Available at https://ecommons.udayton.edu/bcca/vol32/iss1/4
Broeckelman-Post, M. A., Malterud, A. S.*, Arciero, A. R.*, & Hyatt Hawkins, K. E.* (2020). Can course format drive learning? Face-to-face and lecture-lab models of the fundamentals of communication course. Basic Communication Course Annual, 32, Article 7. Available at: https://ecommons.udayton.edu/bcca/vol32/iss1/7
Broeckelman-Post, M. A., Hyatt Hawkins, K.*, Murphy, J.*, Otusanya, A.*, & Kueppers, G.* (2020). The impact of gender and introductory communication course type on public speaking performance. Communication Teacher, 34, 53-67. doi: 10.1080/17404622.2019.1593478
Broeckelman-Post, M. A., & Simonds, C. J. (2020). Recruiting and nurturing a pipeline of future Basic Course Directors. Basic Communication Course Annual, 32, Article 12. Available at https://ecommons.udayton.edu/bcca/vol32/iss1/12
*student coauthor
Collaborative Research Grant for Communication Across the Curriculum: Creating Faculty Resources for Building Communication Skills in the Discipline. Awarded by 4-VA. The purpose of this award is to develop faculty resources for building student communication skills within disciplinary courses. Team members: Melissa Broeckelman-Post, Brandi Quesenberry, Timothy Ball, and Stephanie Norander. Award amount: $30,000. Awarded May 2019.
Faculty Research and Development Award for Communication Center Impacts: A Proof of Concept for Enhancing Skills and Learning. Team members: Melissa Broeckelman-Post and Heidi Lawrence. Award amount: $15,000. Awarded December 2018.
Seed Grant for Context Matters: An Exploration of Epistemic Climate and Motivation in an Undergraduate Communication Course. Team members: Angela Miller, Michelle Buehl, and Melissa Broeckelman-Post. Award amount: $9500. Awarded January 2018.
Curriculum Impact Grant for Studio for the Communication Arts. Awarded by George Mason University. The purpose of this award is to identify best practices and establish single, signature curricular and physical studio space where students and faculty across the university can engage in communication work—including writing, speaking, information literacy, and production. Team Members: Susan Lawrence, Melissa Brockelman-Post, Patricia West, Michelle LaFrance, and Jen Stevens. Award amount: $14,000. Awarded December 2017.
4-VA Collaborative Research Grant. Awarded by George Mason University and 4-VA. The purpose of this award is to conduct three assessment projects evaluating the effectiveness of a pilot version of a lecture/lab/speech lab model of COMM 101: Interpersonal and Group Interaction. Award amount: $20,000. Awarded December 2017.
National Communication Association Advancing the Discipline Grant for A National-Level Assessment of Core Competencies in the Basic Communication Course. Team members: Melissa Broeckelman-Post (George Mason University), Lindsey B. Anderson (University of Maryland), Andrew D. Wolvin (University of Maryland), Angela M. Hosek (Ohio University), Cheri Simonds (Illinois State University), John Hooker (Illinois State University), Josh Westwick (South Dakota State University), Karla Hunter (South Dakota State University), Kristina Ruiz-Mesa (California State University, Los Angeles), LeAnn Brazeal (Missouri State University). Award amount: $3900. Awarded October 2016.
COMM 100: Public Speaking
COMM 101: Interpersonal and Group Communication
COMM 101: Fundamentals of Communication (revised curriculum)
COMM 400: Research Methods
COMM 653: Graduate Seminar in Instructional Communication
COMM 750: Research Methods II
Ph.D., Communication Studies, Ohio University, 2009
M.A., Speech Rhetoric and Communication, Kansas State University, 2005
Graduate Certificate in Technical Writing and Professional Communication, Kansas State University, 2004
B.A., English, Kansas State University, 2004
Willams, Preston. (28 April 2021). Melissa Broeckelman-Post elected Faculty Senate Chair. Available at https://www2.gmu.edu/news/2021-04/melissa-broeckelman-post-elected-faculty-senate-chair
Gillooly, E. (2019, June 19). 4-VA at Mason collaborative research grants awarded. The George. Available at https://www2.gmu.edu/news/577921.
Carr, F. (2019, June). Faculty team awarded 4-VA grant to support new approaches to learning communication skills. Available at https://chss.gmu.edu/articles/13392.
Gillooly, E. (2019, June). Increasing enrollment + reduced teaching space + new course structure: A 4-VA study reaps rewards. Available at https://4va.gmu.edu/the-story-of-increasing-enrollment-resulting-in-new-instructors-reductions-in-teaching-space-and-revisions-in-course-structure-or-how-a-critical-analysis-of-a-mason-core-course-created-and-confir/?fbclid=IwAR26VUnJatKcNW_FdBqnCQsWFlKlHSdlslnZNdBml32_Sl4NMufm2_zFEgM
Guest on Teaching Matters, a podcast series by WOUB Public Media (2017, March 28). Episode 13. Available at http://woub.org/tag/teaching-matters/, https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/teaching-matters/id1182990400, and Google Play
Reynolds, A. (2017, February 10). A communication program that is anything but ‘basic.’ Available at http://communication.gmu.edu/articles/10394
Office of Distance Education. (2016, May 2). Speaking to the needs of various learners. Available at https://masononline.gmu.edu/story89/
Byerly, K. (2014, February 3). New communication pilot course redesigns public speaking. Fourth Estate. Available at http://communication.gmu.edu/articles/6470
Mimikos, C. J. (2013, May 6). Mason welcomes Melissa Broeckelman-Post. Fairfax City Patch. Available at http://patch.com/virginia/fairfaxcity/bp--mason-welcomes-melissa-broeckelman-post
Wendy B. Riemann, Thank You, Next: Why People Break Marriage Engagements and the Helpful, Unhelpful, and Mixed Social Support They Receive Afterward (2022)
Karin Nordin , Growing a Growth Mindset in the Introductory Course: Design, Pilot Testing, and Implementation of a Communication Mindset Intervention (2021)